ARKA Calotropis procera

Arka consists of dried leaves of Calotropis procera ,(Fam. Asclepiadaceae), Ayurvedic Medicine for piles and Anal Fistula ,found wild more or less throughout India.

Scientific classification

• Kingdom:    Plantae
• (unranked):    Angiosperms
• (unranked):    Eudicots
• (unranked):    Asterids
• Order:    Gentianales
• Family:    Asclepiadaceae
• Genus:    Calotropis
• Species:    C. procera
• Binomial name — Calotropis procera

SYNONYMS

• Sanskrit    :    Bhinu, Ravi, Tapana
• English    :    Madar Tree
• Gujrati      :    Aakado
• Hindi        :    Aak, Akavana, Madar
• Assamese    :    Akan, Akand
• Bengali    :    Akanda, Akone
• Kashmiri    :    Acka
• Malayalam    :    Erikku
• Marathi    :    Rui
• Oriya       :    Arakha
• Punjabi    :    Ak
• Kannada    :    Ekka, Ekkadagida, Ekkegida
• Tamil       :    Erukku, Vellerukku
• Telugu      :    Jilledu
• Urdu        :    Aak, Madar

DESCRIPTION  and PLACES OF ORIGIN of

• Sub-sessile, 6-15 cm by 4.5-8 cm, broadly ovate, ovate-oblong, elliptic or obovate acute, pubescent when young and glabrous on both sides on maturity.
• Lamina – dorsiventral with mesophyll differentiated into a palisade and spongy tissue, closely arranged palisade parenchyma present, spongy parenchyma tissues almost radially elongated with intercellular spaces, central cells irregular in shape,upper and lower epidermis covered externally with a thick, striated cuticle, below upper epidermis three rows of elongated,  laticifers and vascular bundles also present scattered in this region
• Midrib – transverse section through midrib shows an upper and lower single layered epidermis externally covered with thick, striated cuticle, few epidermal cells on both surfaces of leaf elongated to form un i-seriate, 2-3 celled trichomes,
• epidermal cells cubical and radially elongated, epidermis followed by 3-8 layered collenchyma on both lower and upper surfaces, stele crescent shaped composed of bicollateral and open vascular bundle, xylem consists mostly of vessels and tracheids, a strip of cambium present between xylem and phloem tissues,parenchymatous cells thin-walled, isodiametric to circular with intercellular spaces present in ground tissue,  laticifers also present in the phloem and parenchymatous zone.

Chemical properties

• These belong to the same chemical family as similar chemicals found in foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea).
• The milky sap contains a complex mix of chemicals, some of which are steroidal heart poisons known as “cardiac aglycones”.
• The steroidal component includes an hydroxyl group in the C3β position, a second attached to the C14 carbon, a C/D-cis ring junction and an α,β-unsaturated-γ-lactone in the C17 position.
• These can be a C19-aldehyde in place of the more usual methyl group in this position as well as additional hydroxyl functions and sometimes epoxide structures.
• The features described are those required for toxicity but in addition there can be other substitutions into the steroid nucleus.
• In the plants, the steroidal component is commonly attached via a glycosidic link to a 2-desoxy or a 2,6-didesoxy sugar molecule.
• CONSTITUENTS  –  Glycoside (Calotropin)

PROPERTIES AND ACTION

• Rasa         :    Katu, Tikta
• Guna         :    Laghu, Sara, Snigdha
• Virya     :    Ushan
• Vipaka     :    Katu

Function or Karma      :

• Vatahar,
• Dipana,
• Krmighna,
• Vra¸ahara,
• Vishaghna,
• vedanahar,
• visahara

IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS  –

• Arka Lavana
• Kshar (kshar sutra)
• kshar sutra (pilse)

THERAPEUTIC Medicinal USES

• sotha,
• Kandu,
• Kustha,
• Vrana,
• Krmiroga,
• Gulma,
• Pliharoga,
• Arsa,

DOSE Ayurveda drugs –   –

• 250-750 mg of the drug in powder form